It has gotten to the point that talking about business software without addressing the issues of the cloud and mobile access is like discussing peanut butter without jelly. And that applies to the time-and-billing software market, where the spread of portals and remote time entry has been important, if not for use today, for use of those moving to these tools in the near future.

For OfficeTools Professional, the latest element of its practice management system is the introduction of new portal features in December.

"Rather than being a client portal to transfer documents, it's an office portal," says CEO Mike Giardina. "Staff can record time, Audit companies have to have remote time entry, as do business owners, who are travelling."

The December release also enables tax offices to have an electronic "kiosk" in their lobby. As with doctors' offices in parts of the company, office visitors will be able to check-in via computer and update base information.

"The system notifies users through OfficeTools Pro that the client has arrived," Giardina says. Features that will be added included informational questions that will help the tax preparer with the return such as "did you move, get married or open a 401(k)," Giardina says. When it is time for the interview, the preparers will have the updated information. Also, users will be able to update information throughout the year.

AccountantsWorld, which has been online since it began business, the most recent goal has been to make the service more broadly available via the Internet.

"We have completely rewritten our product," says CEO Chandra Bhansali. "The primary focus was to make it compatible with all browsers."

The AccountantsWorld system can be accessed via smartphones, although the company is working to expand the functions that can be addressed remotely. Bhansali says the platform displays very well on mobile devices.

On the time and billing side the company offers Practice Relief Mobile that enables, users to edit, update, or delete tasks and expenses. That information is automatically transferred to Practice Relief the next time the user logs on via a desktop PC.

Similarly, Wolters Kluwer CCH, which moved to the web with its entire tax and accounting line up with its Axcess suite, provides mobile capabilities for the Axcess Practice module. And one of the keys to the suite is the ability of modules to share data from a common database.

Besides offering time-and-billing functions, the company notes Axcess Practice provides centralized firm management via the cloud. Users can utilize a mobile app for iOS and Android users to access client data.However, the difference between what the software can do and how users work with it are different.

"Most time entry happens Friday afternoon or Monday morning, they can do it over the weekend or wherever I am," says group product manager Jerry Connor. "That's what customers tell us they want. We haven't seen that yet."

Connor notes CCH is considering that the company is considering implementing a timer "so that they can run it from their phone" in order to capture the time of client calls.

The company is also investigating other ways of capturing data. That includes photographing expenses and other documents. There is also the possibility of using the telephone to report hours. An accountant could place a call and say "here the hours for Bob Smith." CCH has already built voice capabilities into its IntellliConnect research platforms. "We will be looking into that with Axcess. That should be an easy one," Connor says.

ImagineTime has avoided offering portal, which have been a popular feature for other companies serving the tax and accounting profession.

"We don't do portals," says Lindsley. ImagineTime has a cloud version and because there are "so many third-party portals that are rather inexpensive" the company concluded it would be better for its customers to let those have access to the web-based product.

And while, as many other companies have, ImagineTime development a document management module, it only sold 50 to 70 units. "The big seller was FinishLine, a due-date monitor, Lindsley said.

Because its target primary user base is small firms, ImagineTime has avoided adding features that will boost expense. "Some are still using excel spreadsheets,," he says. "Some don't have any particular systems at all and are frightened by the products the bigger companies have."Intuit has enhanced its billing capabilities with QuickBooks Online Accountant. This week the company says that QB Online, which is now a single worldwide instance, now supports worldwide billing.

"We want to ensure accountants are able to offer the best price," says Jim McGinnis, an Intuit VP. Users will be able to "get al the charges on a single bill" he continues.

Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind